The first game of the 2025 season is officially in the books, and Michigan State football is 1-0 for a second straight season under Jonathan Smith.
Michigan State raced out to a 21-0 lead at halftime but then finished the game with a thud, scoring just two points in the final 30 minutes. For a second straight year, Michigan State recorded a safety in the season opener, and this time it happened when the game was already out of reach.
Unfortunately, the shutout was spoiled in the final minutes as Alessio Milivojevic threw a pick-six to former Spartan safety Tate Hallock.
Still, a win's a win, and Michigan State took care of business without showing too much, play-calling-wise. The Spartans need to be much more creative next week when Boston College comes to town because that second-half play-calling was a disaster outside of the drive that ended in an unfortunate fumble by Aidan Chiles after a missed block by Brandon Tullis.
Following the win, Smith awarded his first game ball of the season. And it was a surprising recipient on the other end: new athletic director J Batt.
and the game ball goes to @MSU_Battman 👏 pic.twitter.com/V1Mz3biTcW
— Michigan State Football (@MSU_Football) August 30, 2025
You could look at this a couple of ways. It could be Smith trying to make a solid impression on his new athletic director, or it could be the second-year coach sending a message that the team needs to get it together in a hurry because no one stood out enough to earn it. Or he didn't want to single one player out because too many guys were deserving.
Still, I like the move because I think that Batt has done a lot for the program in a short amount of time. He's helped bring excitement back to East Lansing.
Let's hope next week's game ball is awarded after a big win -- and a better offensive showing.